Set in Stone
by Just Your Average Flygon
Summary: Ash has just defeated the Unova League and has completed his fifth pokemon journey. Now he is heading back home to Kanto to await his next journey. Unbeknownst to him, it will be starting sooner than he expects. Through his next journey, he must ally himself with a mysterious group of people called the shifters to take down a force that threatens world destruction.
1. The return of Ash

**A/N This is an AU (author's universe, right?) so the anime characters used won't be exactly like how they are in the anime. For example, the characters aren't all juts immortal 10 year olds, they've actually aged in this story. For character's ages, just take their debut ages and add 6 (So ash is 16, May is 16, Brock is 21, etc.) This is also my first fanfiction written, so I will probably have some errors, but please try to grin and bear with it and don't hesitate to give me some constructive criticism, I can use all the help I can get.**

It seemed like any other peaceful night. There was a slight cool breeze in the air as the night hours progressed, and bright city lights could be seen. Standing atop a tall building was a middle-aged man, staring across the city horizon. He had pale skin and was dressed in white, with a golden jacket on his back. His eyes were a strange color, green and red. He continued staring off into the horizon.

"It certainly has been a while." He muttered to himself, with a chuckle. "I hope the others are as optimistic about coming here as I am."

With that, a ball of light appeared in his hand as he clenched his fist. He threw it up into the sky, causing it to explode and create a ripple of light that crossed the globe.

_Good thing this building is so tall, the civilians would have noticed if I were elevated any lower. _The man thought to himself.

"Report to the human world at once". The man said, under his breath. "Maintain human form at all times."

Within a matter of minutes, four portals emerged around the roof the man was standing on, and more mysterious figures started to emerge from the portals

From the first portal came a man in his mid thirties with a child who looked no older than six, a girl, who was clinging onto the man, fearfully. Aside them were three young men only distinguishable by their color schemes (Blue, red, and yellow).

From the second portal came three figures that had the same colors as the first three but looked stronger and more agile, two men that looked to be in their early to mid forties, and finally another young child with large blue eyes.

The third portal had three very masculine looking aged men, a man and a woman that appeared almost identical, except the man was slightly larger and more muscular than the woman, while the woman was smaller and less built than the man; three well aged men, one being exceptionally large, one being slightly smaller than the first but still very large, and a third figure that looked much older than the first two, but still just as large, all three with a somewhat annoyed expression on their faces; another young child wearing a yellow hat in the shape of a star, and a middle aged man with a somewhat stern look on his face.

And finally, the fourth portal brought three children, all young girls who looked to each be about 10, three men that looked strong and aged, another man and woman that looked similar in cosmetic and physical features, two more young children who both looked extremely innocent and curious, a middle aged man that seemed to have burns on his arms and face, a humongous, large, and muscular man, almost as large as the man from the third portal; and another young child that looked about 8 or 9 wearing a pink bow in his hair.

The first figure began counting them. "33. Including me, that makes 34. Looks like everyone is present."

"I'm assuming you have a good reason for telling us all to come here?" One of the aged men from the 2nd portal asked. He was wearing clothes colored white and blue.

"As a matter of fact, Lugia, I do." The man said with a smirk "It seems new shifters have appeared.

The crowd of people had mixed reactions: Some groaned, some cheered, some gasped, but most just acted like it was nothing.

"Man, this is such a pain." The largest man from the third portal said. He was wearing dark red clothing. "I hate when this crap happens."

"Well maybe it wouldn't if you weren't so damn reckless all the time." One of the other large men from the third portal said. He wore dark blue clothes.

"Really now? And tell me how you're any better, Kyogre!"

"At least I don't destroy half a continent when I take a step."

"Well I don't flood entire cities."

"What, you think I meant to do that?!"

"**SILENCE!" **The older man with them shouted loud enough to destroy a mountain. He was wearing a dark green color scheme

With that, both men grunted and faced back forward, ending their short feud.

"Thank you, Rayquaza." The first man said, as the older man in green nodded.

"Now as I was saying, the first batch of shifters has been chosen." He continued, "There are five so far, one from each region. They have all become humans, so human form is still needed to communicate with them and to lay low. We need to find all the shifters as quickly as possible, preferably before the second batch is chosen." He looked at the figures from the first portal. "Mew will search Kanto for the first shifter." The young child looked up at the man she clinged onto. The child was wearing all pink while the man was clothed in white and some purple. The man nodded to the child, who then nodded back to him. "Celebi will search Johto." The young child with large blue eyes from the second portal nodded. He was wearing entirely green clothing. "Deoxys will search Hoenn, and Regigigas will search Sinnoh." The middle-aged man with the stern look and the giant man from the fourth portal both nodded. Respectively, they were wearing orange and dark blue, and white and yellow, with a red, blue and gray bracelet on each arm. "As for Unova, Cresselia and Darkrai will accompany me there. I need backup in case we run into him."

The similar man and woman from the fourth portal nodded obediently

"Very well." Said the man, who was wearing full black with a red scarf and had white hair.

"It would be an honor, sir." Said the woman, who was wearing a combination of pink, light blue, and tan.

"Good. As for the rest of you, return to your natural habitats and await further orders." Said the man with the golden jacket as he turned to face the city again. "This meeting is over."

Just as fast as they had came, they all left out of the portals they initially emerged from.

The man with the golden jacket still stood there, peacefully watching over the horizon.

"I wonder who the second batch will consist of. Maybe that one boy from Kanto? He seems like he would make a powerful shifter. What was his name again? Ash?"

The man was deep in thought, and didn't notice for a while that the sun was beginning to come up.

He sighed. "Only time will tell." And with a flash, he vanished.

* * *

"Not a bad view, huh buddy?"

"Pika!"

Ash Ketchum and his best friend Pikachu were leaning over the rail of a ship, the ship that was taking him back to his home in Pallet Town. He had just defeated the Unova League and, like he did at the end of each of his journeys, he was going back home to Pallet Town until a new opportunity for a journey presented itself. He had already beaten all the previous leagues, so there wasn't much reason to go back to them, other than to see his friends from past adventures.

"Man, I can't wait to see mom, Professor Oak, Gary, and Tracey again! And I can't wait to show them all the new pokémon I caught in Unova! And lets not forget all my other pokémon. I bet they've missed us, Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

As the ship docked at the pier, Ash hurriedly ran off the boat back to his home in Pallet Town, almost too excited to handle himself. Once he finally did get to the entrance of the Town, he was so exhausted from running that he fell over, flat on his face, trying to catch his breath.

"What's with the big rush? Pallet's not going anywhere, Ashy-boy." A familiar, mocking voice said.

Ash grinned. Already knowing whom it was, he got up out of the dirt.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Ash said, with a grin on his face. "It's been a while, huh Gary?" Ash said as he put his hand out for a handshake.

"Yeah, what took you so long to beat the Unova league?" Gary said, returning the shake. "Some pokémon master you are."

"Oh shut up." Ash said to Gary, mockingly.

"Pika pi!" Ash's Pikachu was ecstatic, jumping off Ash's shoulder and onto Gary's, before plopping himself down on Gary.

"And I see you still got this little electric headache." Gary said, sarcastically, as he scratched Pikachu's neck, causing Pikachu to coo.

"Yup. And he's gotten stronger than ever! Isn't that right buddy?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed as he jumped back onto Ash's shoulder.

"Anyways, is Professor Oak in right now?" Ash asked Gary.

"Oh, gramps? Ya just missed him. He said something about there being a rare flock of pokémon on route 22."

"Really?!" Ash's face beamed. "Well then what are we waiting for?! C'mon, lets get to route 22!"

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu shouted, clearly just as excited as its trainer.

"Wait a second Ash!" Gary said as he tried to stop the hyperactive trainer, but to no avail as Ash had already turned around and started running towards route 22. "Sheesh. Wasn't he just completely exhausted a couple moments ago?" Gary said, sighing and then walked back to the lab.

After searching for about 30 minutes and finding nothing but some angry spearow, pidgey, and rattata, Ash and Pikachu decided there was no so-called flock and decided to head back to Pallet Town.

* * *

"Maybe Professor Oak found the flock already." Ash said, now really exhausted

"Pika pi." Pikachu said, just as tired.

It was already sunset, so Ash decided he would just go back home than to Oak's lab. Then Ash realized he still hadn't even gone to his home once since he got back. He had given his mom a call and told her he was coming back home today, so she must've been worried sick. He arrived at the porch of his house and rang the doorbell.

_Haven't heard that bell in so long…_ Ash thought.

The door then opened to reveal a very joyful Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother. Within moment of eye contact with each other, she wrapped him in a gigantic bear hug.

"Oh Ash, I've missed you so much! How was your journey? What new Pokémon have you caught? Did you remember to change your underwear every day?" Ms. Ketchum shouted, happily.

"Jeez mom, so many questions. And for the underwear one, I think I'm old enough to know about that by now." Ash said, returning the hug.

"Oh, I know, but you're just growing up so fast! It's hard to believe, you're already 16 years old! It seemed like just yesterday, you were just a little baby Ash." Ms. Ketchum said, dreamily.

"Oh come on mom." Ash said, eventually ending the hug.

"Well, now that I'm here, I could really go for something to eat! And I remember how awesome your cooking is!"

"That's right honey! Don't worry, I made you your favorite food for dinner after your fifth long journey!"

"Oh boy!" Ash said, hardly able to control himself from excitement as he entered the house and his mom closed the door behind him.

* * *

**A/N The next scene of this chapter will be in first person view, and will be one of the few times first person is used in this story if not the only time.**

* * *

I opened my eyes and felt the sand around my body. I had woken up completely in the middle of the desert.

_Huh. Guess I fell asleep last night while wandering around._ _Eh, no biggie. I can just fly back to my cave._

I unwrapped my wings. Or, at least, tried to unwrap my wings, but couldn't even feel them on my back.

_Man, my wings must be sore or something, I can't feel them at all. What a pain, guess I'll have to walk._

I stood up, but them realized something: I was much taller.

_What the hell? Did I grow in my sleep or something? The sand looks like its miles away._

As I eventually got to stand up on my own feet, I was shocked at how much of the desert I could see with just my own eyes. I could see several acres of nothing but sand, something that would take me to fly several yards in the air to see.

"Something's up." I said, now aloud. "First I fall asleep in the desert, then I can't even feel my wings, then I take a look down and realize tha-"

I was going to say _that I'm extremely tall_, but instead I saw something much more interesting. I looked down and saw my feet, except they weren't actually my feet. Sure, I was controlling the feet, but they weren't like the pair of feet I had known. These were…. human feet.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, expecting some answer, I guess.

I then realized it wasn't just my feet that were human, it was also my hands, body, and after feeling my face a few times with my hands, my face. I was wearing nothing but a few green rags, just enough to cover my privates and most of my chest. As I looked around this desert I called home, all the other Pokémon who looked up to me, the desert spirit, were now cowering in fear of me, now a human.

"What the hell happened to me? Why am I a human all of a sudden? I don't want to be a human, I want to go back to being a Pokémon again!" I screamed as I kicked some sand, which then blew back in my face, burning my eyes.

"Dammit, I need answers." I then started to run from the desert to the nearest piece of civilization I knew, Pallet Town.

* * *

**So how was that for a first chapter of my first fanfiction? I appreciate you taking time out of your day to read this story, please know that I plan to make this story rather lengthy, so there will be much more, I've got a lot of the plot already in mind. It should also be noted that there might also be some shipping later on, most likely advanceshipping, but nothing guaranteed yet. Thanks for reading and don't hesistate to review!**


	2. The boy in green rags

**A/N I'm sorry this chapter took so long for me to upload, I've actually had the world file sitting in my computer for a few weeks, I was just too lazy to actually upload it till now, oops. **

**Forgot to put a disclaimer in the first chapter so here: I don't own Pokemon or it's characters, nor am I affiliated with Game Freak, The Pokemon Company, Nintendo, or any companies that own parts of this fanfic. All rights belong to their respective owners.  
**

**Alright, now that all that legal crap is out of the way, let's get on with CH 2! This one actually came out longer than I expected it to.**

* * *

Ash's eyes slowly opened from a deep sleep. After heading to his house, he ate dinner, talked with his mother about his journey for a while, and then went to bed because had gotten really tired after running all the way from the pier then looking around route 22 for what turned out to be nothing. He looked to his left and saw Pikachu happily sleeping in his small bed. He smiled at the yellow mouse Pokémon, and rose from his bed and walked downstairs.

Ash's mother was already in the kitchen, making breakfast. Ash's mouth began to water as he could smell the delicious aroma of pancakes.

"Good morning Ash. Did you sleep well?" Ash's mother said, sweetly.

"Like a rock. Under a huge pile of other rocks." Ash said, as both him and his mother chuckled lightly. "I've been sleeping only in my sleeping bag for months, it was so nice to finally sleep in a bed again."

"I bet it was." Ash's mother said, as Ash grabbed a plate, fork and butter knife and started putting a few pancakes on his plate.

Ash's eating ability hadn't hindered. He was still able to eat a lot very quickly. He also completely zoned in on his plate, saying nothing other than the occasional "Pass the butter." or "Pass the syrup." Ash's mother just laughed. _He hasn't changed at all. _She thought.

"So Ash." Delia said. "Are you planning on going to Professor Oak's lab today?"

"Yup. I wanna see how he's doing, and I wanna check up on my other Pokémon to see how they're doing too." Ash said

"Well, it's already noon, so you should probably get over there pretty soon." Delia said.

"WHAT?!" Ash said, astonished. "IT'S ALREADY NOON?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!"

"Well you slept in pretty long, you mean you haven't even taken a look at the clock since you woke up?" Delia asked.

"OF COURSE NOT, WHO DOES THAT!" Ash screamed, still surprised he slept half the day. "I gotta get Pikachu and we need to go right now!" He said as he ran back up the stairs, leaving his unfinished plate.

After an angry Pikachu lightly shocked him and, after almost running out the front door of his house while still in his pajamas, Ash was in a new change of clothes, and him and Pikachu were ready to go. As they left the house Ash then walked over to Oak's lab, excited to see so many familiar faces.

* * *

"Hey Professor Oak! I finished my Unova journey!" Ash said as he walked through the door.

"Hello Ash! Still sleeping in, I see." The Pokémon professor said.

"Heh heh. Guess so." Ash said, scratching the back of his head.

"Gary told me you came to Kanto yesterday, I'm surprised you didn't come to the lab right away." Oak said.

"Well it was late. And I was pretty tired from my journey, I thought I needed a rest."

"And that you did Ash! But no matter. You probably want to see your Pokémon, don't you?" Oak said.

"You bet! I've missed them and I'm sure they've missed me too!" Ash said, proudly.

The two walked to the Oak corral, where all of Ash's Pokémon were being kept. When they got there, Ash could see a lot of his Pokémon playing around in the distance.

"Hey guys! I'm back!" He shouted as loud as he could, with his hands cupped around his mouth.

All the Pokémon heard the shout, and turned to see whom it was from. Recognizing their master, they all began rushing towards Ash, with the exception of snorlax, who merely slowly waddled over. They all tackled him in an embrace, which caused Ash to laugh merrily.

Ash kept looking through the crowd of Pokémon and counted them up: Staraptor, blastoise, noctowl, heracross, infernape, donphan, etc, everybody seemed to be present, except for one.

"Professor Oak, where's gible?" Ash confusedly asked the professor.

"Well Ash, there's something you should know about that." Oak said, with a grin.

Ash raised a brow at this comment, and was about to ask Oak what he meant, but heard a scream, followed by a growl. Immediately he turned to where the noise came from. He saw two figures; one chasing the other while the one being chased was screaming and holding a pencil and pad of sketching paper.

"Come on Gabite! I was only trying to get a sketch of you!" The figure being chased screamed in terror.

The figure doing the chasing suddenly bit down on the one holding the paper, causing him to scream out in pain.

"Ash, while you were away, your gible evolved into a gabite. It's become much more aggressive too." Oak said, ignoring the current conflict.

"Really? That's awesome!" Ash said. "Hey gabite! Do you remember me?!" The trainer shouted.

Gabite let loose of his grip of the figure with the sketching paper and looked to where the sound came from. Instantly he began charging toward the trainer. He had built up so much speed however that he couldn't stop in time, and rammed straight into Ash, rocketing him up into the sky. He eventually came back down to earth and luckily landed softly on snorlax's stomach.

"Looks like he still remembers you, at least." Oak said, as he and Ash both sweat-dropped, while all of Ash's other Pokémon couldn't control their laughter.

Gabite was ecstatic, and ran back over to his trainer, slower this time, and then wrapped him into a big hug.

"Gar!" The Pokémon replied.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too, pal." Ash said, still a bit shaken up about what just happened.

"Hey Ash! Long time no see!" The figure with the sketchpad began running up to them. Upon closer inspection, Ash could see it was no other than Tracey, a former traveling companion of Ash's but was now living in Pallet town as Professor Oak's aide.

"What's up Tracey? It has been a while, hasn't it?" Ash said, as he got off snorlax and out of gabite's grip.

"Sure has." Tracey said.

The two then talked for minutes about their various Pokémon adventures: Ash's in Unova, and Tracey's taking care of Ash's Pokémon and assisting Professor Oak.

"Well it was great to see you again Tracey, as well as all of my other Pokémon!" Ash said, happily.

"You bet." Tracey said. "So, are you gonna stay in pallet town or go on another journey?"

"I think I'll stay here for a while, I've already beaten all the other leagues, so why go back?" Ash said, bragging.

"That makes sense." Tracey said. "Well I gotta keep taking care of your Pokémon, so enjoy your little vacation!" Tracey said.

"Alright, see ya Tracey!" Ash said as he and Oak walked away from the corral back to the lab.

* * *

"So Ash, what are you going to do now?" Oak asked the young trainer.

"I dunno, maybe go to Pewter city and see Brock." Ash said, remembering his old friend.

Ash's stomach then growled, causing him to blush and rub the back of his head, nervously.

"…Right after lunch." Ash said, embarrassed. "Good to see you again Professor Oak."

"Yes, you too Ash." The professor said pleasantly, as Ash walked out the front door of the lab.

* * *

Ash walked back to his house, with Pikachu on his shoulder, hungry yet again. As he ate lunch, him and his mother talked about various things, but one thing in particular:

"I called all your friends while you were out and told them you had came back from Unova. I also decided to throw a small welcoming party at our house tonight with all of them." Delia said, happily as always.

"When you say 'my friends', who do you mean exactly?" Ash asked.

"Well let's see…" Delia put on a thinking face. "I called Brock, Misty, May, Max, Dawn, and Gary and invited them over."

"That sounds like a lot of fun mom, I can't wait to see all of them again!" Ash said

Delia just chuckled happily. "Well, what are you going to do now? You've still got plenty of free time on your hands now that your journey is over."

"Well I was planning on going to Pewter City's gym and see Brock." Ash said.

"That's a great idea Ash! Well, have fun while you're out!" Ash's mother said.

"Alright! Let's go Pikachu!" Ash said to his Pokémon who had been sipping on a ketchup bottle, also excited to see Brock.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Bye mom, thanks for lunch!" Ash said as he ran out the door of his house.

Delia just waved as her son ran out the door to Pewter City.

She sat there, thinking about Ash and his future. _He's grown up, but he still acts as if he's the same hotheaded ten-year-old kid when he started his journey. _She thought, chuckling. _I wonder if he'll ever grow up, ever settle down, relax, get a girlfriend…_ Delia stopped herself at the last thought. She then began thinking about the party. _Misty, May, and Dawn are all coming. I wonder if any of them have feelings for him. Better yet, if he has feelings for any of them, or for anyone for that matter._

Loud pounding on the front door and her son's voice then interrupted her thoughts.

"MOM! MOM! COME LOOK, THIS IS TERRIBLE!" Ash's voice could be heard, practically shouting through the walls of the house.

Delia became concerned, and rushed over to the door then opened it quickly.

"What is it Ash? Are you OK?" Delia said, in a panic.

If she was in a panic, Ash was in complete shock. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. He was pale as paper and looked very afraid, as did the Pikachu on his shoulders

"Well, I-I was walking to P-Pewter City, when I saw something in the street. Come look, mom!" Ash said, as he pulled his mother out of the house by her arm.

It was now Delia's turn to be shocked. They looked in front of them and saw a person passed out in the middle of the road, completely unconscious.

"What's going on? Who is this person?" Ash said, questioningly.

"It doesn't matter, he's burning up." Ash's mother said, as she felt the person's forehead. "We need to get him back home, nurse him back to health. It's the right thing to do." Delia said, concerned.

Ash nodded and helped his mother carry the unconscious person back to their house.

* * *

They laid the stranger on their living room couch. Ash went to get a thermometer while his mother put a blanket over the person and propped a pillow under his head.

Ash gave his mother the thermometer and she took the boy's temperature.

"He has a high fever." Delia said. "All he needs now is a night's rest and he should be OK."

Both Ash and his mother let out a big sigh of relief, then looked back to the boy, concerned.

"Well, it's already 3:00, I better get ready for the party tonight. It starts at 6:00, so make sure you're ready before then." Delia said to her son, some happiness returning to her face

"Alright, thanks mom." Ash said, still worried. He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the unconscious stranger. He then got a closer look at him, and noticed he had green hair, pale skin, looked to be around his age, and was wearing nothing more then a few green rags.

Pikachu then jumped off Ash's shoulder onto the stranger, examing him.

"Guess I should get ready too." Ash said as he walked up to his room, with Pikachu following behind him.

* * *

I woke up drearily as I saw my eyelids slowly peer open. I could see nothing but black nothingness. I stood up and began looking around. _What happened? All I can remember is passing out when I got to Pallet Town. _

"Hello? Can anybody hear me?" I shouted into the blackness.

"_Yes…. I can hear you." _I heard a voice, but still didn't see anyone or anything for that matter.

"Who are you? What's going on? What has happened to me?" I asked, desperate for answers.

"_My word, you certainly have a lot of questions." _The voice said. _"Worry not, they will all be answered soon enough." _With those words I could almost see someone in the darkness for just a second, but they suddenly vanished.

"NO! COME BACK! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING!" I yelled, angry, confused, and frustrated.

Suddenly, the ground below me felt empty, and I began to free-fall. I still couldn't see anything but darkness surrounding me. As I continued to fall, I could eventually see a face clearly in the distance as I fell towards it. The face had bright yellow eyes, large teeth, and a turquoise cross on its face that looked like solid ice.

"Wait, w-what are you?" I shouted as the wind from free falling continued to forcefully brush against me.

The face looked straight at me, smirked a devilish grin, and opened its mouth menacingly.

My eyes opened to the size of dinner plates, realizing what was happening. There was nothing I could do; I was just falling into the face's mouth. It would devour me, and I would die.

_An odd way to die, not knowing how the hell any of it happened. _I thought, sadly, as I helplessly fell into the face's mouth and it clamped shut and devoured me.

* * *

Ash looked back to the clock. _5:50. I figured at least some of them would be here by now. _He thought.

"Pika." Pikachu said, as he jumped onto the trainer's shoulder again, reassuringly.

"You're right Pikachu, they'll be here any second." Ash said, as he laid his head back on the couch he was sitting on.

Almost on queue, Ash heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it mom!" He said, as he ran to the door.

As he opened it, a familiar young man stood there, with dark skin, spiky hair, and lines for eyes

"Well, well, if it isn't the world's best Pokémon breeder." Ash said, in a sarcastic tone.

Brock chuckled at Ash. "And if it isn't the world's best Pokémon trainer. How've you been, old friend?" He put his hand out for a shake

"Oh you know, beat the Unova league, nothing too much." Ash said, with a smirk.

"Pikachu!" Ash's Pikachu exclaimed, as he jumped off Ash's shoulder and right onto Brock's face, causing both trainer and breeder to laugh.

He let the young man in and the two talked about various things and it had only been about 10 minutes until they heard the doorbell ring again.

"That's probably Misty." Brock said.

"Haven't seen her in a while, I wonder if she's changed at all."

Ash opened the door and answered his own question: not really. The cerulean gym leader still had the same tomboyish orange hair in one ponytail on the left side of her head and still wore the same tang top and short shorts when they traveled through Kanto and Johto together. She was definitely older, but she still felt like the same classic Misty he had always known.

"Hey Misty!" Ash said, with a smile.

"Ash! It's been such a long time!" She replied, with an unexpected hug, but Ash returned it nonetheless.

"How've you been?" Ash asked the gym leader.

"Great, thanks. And you?" She replied.

"I've been good." Ash said.

The two just stood there for a while, looking at each other, trying to find something to say.

"So, uh… I beat the Unova league and…stuff." Ash said, nervously.

"Heh, I knew you could do it." Misty replied.

"Hey lovebirds! You just gonna stand there all night or sit down and talk to me too?" Brock said, from the living room.

Misty then backed away, blushing, but Ash seemed unphased.

"Oh, sorry Brock. Come on Misty." Ash said as he paraded back to the breeder.

_Typical, dense Ash. _Misty thought as she followed the trainer.

The three talked for a while, about various things, basically whatever came up to mind. They felt good about all three of their original trio back together for just one visit with each other.

* * *

As the night progressed, all the other guests Ash's mom invited began showing up: May, Max, and Dawn eventually came, all just as happy to see Ash again as Brock and Misty. There was also one guest that Ash didn't expect to see. After he welcomed Dawn inside, he saw another trainer standing behind her. He was wearing an orange and white striped shirt, along with a green scarf.

"Barry? What are you doing here?" Ash said, confused at the blonde trainer before him.

"Well, I heard from Dawn that you had come back from Unova, so I thought I would pay you a visit!" Barry said, sticking his thumb toward his chest.

Ash still just blankly stared at Barry.

"What? Not happy to see me or something?" Barry said, a hint of anger in his last sentence.

"No that's not it, it's just that…. you weren't exactly invited." Ash said, still with his blank expression.

"Yeah, I tried telling him that, but then he said 'Too bad! I'm fining you 1 million dollars if we don't both go Kanto to see Ash!'" Dawn said, in her best Barry impersonation. "And he just kept pestering me until I caved and let him come with me."

"1 million and 500, thank you very much!" Barry said to Dawn. "Now I'll have to fine you 2 million dollars for not remembering how much I initially fined you! And I'll have to fine Ash 5 million dollars for not jumping for joy at the sight of me!" Barry babbled.

Misty, May, and Max all looked in confusion at the temperamental blonde trainer.

"Who's he?" The three asked in unison.

"That would be Barry." Brock said, sweat-dropping gallons as the Dawn and Barry argued. "Ash, Dawn, and I met him on our Sinnoh journey. I know the kid means good, but he often just annoys us."

After much shouting and fining, Ash let Barry in and told his mother to make dinner for one more.

"So Barry, let me introduce you into some of my other friends. This is Misty, May, and Max." Ash introduced Barry to all the trainers, respectively.

Barry paid almost no attention to any of them, and went on to ask Ash more about what he did in his Unova journey. This got him a death glare from Misty, May, and Max.

"Everyone! Dinner is ready!" Ash's mother said from the kitchen.

The 6 trainers got up and walked toward the kitchen, and Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder.

As they ate, they talked about various small talk: their new Pokémon, how their journeys were each going, and where they were going next. It wasn't until everyone was almost finished with his or her meals that Ash's mother chimed in.

"So Ash, did you tell them about what happened today?" Delia said, her happy expression changing to a more serous one.

"I was planning on keeping that a secret, but no point in trying now." Ash grunted as he finished his meal.

The others sat in confusion. "What are you two talking about, Ash?" May asked, curiously.

Ash stood up from his seat. "Here, see for yourself." He motioned for everyone to follow him upstairs to the guest bedroom. The 5 others obeyed, and followed Ash up the stairs.

* * *

Lying on the bed was the boy clothed in green rags from before. Ash and his mother had moved him up to the guest bedroom from the living room couch so that Ash's friends wouldn't shriek in terror as they saw a body lying on their couch when they walked in.

"As I was leaving my house today, I saw him passed out in the middle of the street. My mom and I decided we had to do what was right, which was to bring him in and take care of him at least until his fever is cured." Ash said, looking at the boy on the bed.

The various trainers in the room had mixed reactions: Brock and Max were somewhat interested; the girls were scared at first, but then gained control of themselves; and Barry just eyed the body questioningly.

"What worries me is that he's been unconscious since we brought him in, we don't know how else to help him."

"Hmmm, I might be able to help." Brock said.

Being an aspiring Pokémon doctor, Brock had the most medical knowledge of the group, so he thought he could still be of some help. He checked the boy's pulse. _That seems normal. _He thought. He then lowered his ear to the boy's chest to see if he could hear a heart beat.

The instant Brock's head made contact with the boy's chest, the boy's eyes jolted open wide, and his conscious came back to him. He then swatted Brock away from him and quickly jumped out of the bed, away from Brock and everyone else, and now stood on the other side of the room.

Now that he was awake and moving, everyone could get a better look at him. He had pale skin and was still wearing the same green rags. He was lean, tall, and had green hair that matched his rags. What was the most interesting however, were his eyes, which were dark red.

"W-who….are you people…." He said, panting.

Everyone put on a shocked face to what just happened.

_But…I thought he was just unconscious…? _Misty thought.

_So cool…. _Max, still young, thought.

_I don't like this; it's really unnerving for some reason. _Misty thought.

"Um….hello." Ash broke the silence in the room. The boy then gave Ash a fierce glare.

"What happened? Where am I? Who are you?" The boy babbled numerous questions, maintaining his glare.

"You're in Pallet Town. I saw you passed out in the street, so my mother and I took you in and have been caring for you." Ash explained to the boy. "And, my name is Ash Ketchum.

The boy's glare faded. "I am grateful, thank you Ash. But, I still have many questions that you will not have the answer to. I would like to leave your home as soon as possible, so right now."

"What?! But, you still have a fever! Besides, do you even know where these answers are?" Ash asked him, a little frustrated.

"No… but it's urgent. You wouldn't understand what's going through my head right now. In fact, even I don't understand what's happening." The boy replied, calmly.

"What? Now you're just not making sense at all!" Ash screamed, more frustrated.

The boy's glare returned to his face. "Don't get in my way, human. Let me pass."

The trainer and the boy in rags stared at each other, menacingly for quite some time. The others in the room could tell a fight was about to happen if someone didn't back down soon.

"Um…..t-those answers you want….." a childish voice could be heard from the room. Everyone turned to the source of the voice, which could be heard behind a bookshelf. "I…might be able to have them…" The voice then revealed itself. It was a little girl who looked no older than six, wearing all pink.

* * *

**So what'd you guys think? Yeah, this chapter was actually kinda slow, but it left a good little cliffhanger at the end. It's also actually twice as long as the first chapter, so yeah, that happened. I'll try to be more consistent on uploading these chapters, but final exams are coming up soon, so I might not really live up to that promise. Please just try to be patient with me, I can say for sure that I will eventually finish this story, so make sure you stay tuned.**


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